head to head · open source
operating-system vs SmartIR
operating-system has 7,627 GitHub stars, 1,331 forks, 95 open issues and last shipped yesterday. SmartIR has 2,855 stars, 1,251 forks, 199 open issues and last shipped yesterday. operating-system leads on adoption by 167% (7,627 vs 2,855 stars). operating-system is written in Python under Apache-2.0; SmartIR is written in Python under MIT. operating-system has attracted 17% as many forks as stars, SmartIR 44%. operating-system was the more recently maintained of the two, and both are self-hostable with no licence fee. The two share 1 topic tag (iot), so they are genuine substitutes rather than adjacent tools.
Two open source projects, one decision. Both are free and self-hostable — the differences are community size, license terms, language stack and release pace.
← all 20902 open source comparisons
Side by side
| operating-system | SmartIR | |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub stars | ★ 7.6K | ★ 2.9K |
| License | Apache-2.0 | MIT |
| Written in | Python | Python |
| Last push | 2026-11-05 | 2026-11-05 |
| Forks | ⑂ 1.3K | ⑂ 1.3K |
| Self-hosting | Yes | Yes |
| Data ownership | Your server | Your server |
pick operating-system if
- You weight community size — 7.6K stars and counting
- You want the Apache-2.0 license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You value the larger contributor base for long-term maintenance
pick SmartIR if
- You want the SmartIR feature set and don't need the biggest community
- You prefer the MIT license terms
- Your stack matches Python
- You evaluated both and SmartIR fits your workflow better
About operating-system
Home Assistant Operating System Home Assistant Operating System (formerly HassOS) is a Linux based operating system optimized to host Home Assistant and its Apps. Home Assistant Operating System uses Docker as its container engine. By default it deploys the Home Assistant Supervisor as a container. Home Assistant Supervisor in turn uses the Docker container engine to control Home Assistant Core and Apps in separate containers. Home Assistant Operating System is not based on a regular Linux distribution like Ubuntu. It is built using Buildroot and it is optimized to run Home Assistant. It targets single board…
read the full operating-system overview →
About SmartIR
⚠️ Warning You are free to fork, modify, and use the code in this repository in accordance with the applicable open source license. However, the name "SmartIR" must not be used in any capacity , especially for promoting, rebranding, or distributing your own fork or derivative works. Please respect this guideline to preserve the original project's identity. Overview SmartIR is a custom integration for controlling climate devices , media players , fans and lights via infrared controllers. SmartIR currently supports the following controllers: Broadlink Xiaomi IR Remote (ChuangmiIr) LOOK.in Remote ESPHome User…
read the full SmartIR overview →
More in Miscellaneous
Related comparisons
More Internet of Things (IoT) projects
Compare either of these against the rest of the Internet of Things (IoT) field.
Frequently asked questions
Is operating-system or SmartIR more popular?
operating-system has 7,627 GitHub stars and SmartIR has 2,855. operating-system has the larger community by that measure.
Are operating-system and SmartIR free?
Both are open source. operating-system is licensed under Apache-2.0 and SmartIR under MIT. Neither carries a licence fee.
What is the difference between operating-system and SmartIR?
operating-system is written in Python and SmartIR in Python. The practical differences are community size, licence terms, language stack and release cadence — all compared in the table above.
Which should I choose, operating-system or SmartIR?
Choose operating-system if you want the larger community (7,627 stars) or its Apache-2.0 licence terms. Choose SmartIR if its feature set, stack or MIT licence fits better. Both are self-hostable.